SUSTAINABLE MINIMALISTS+

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Sustainable Minimalists

Stephanie Seferian

Creating eco-minimalist, non-toxic homes (without the extra work). Although minimalism has experienced a rebirth in recent years, the "less is more" movement has been around for centuries. Yet today's minimalist influencers have resurrected minimalism with a decidedly consumerist spin, as modern minimalism is nearly synonymous with decluttering. While there's a lot of chatter about tidying, it's radio silence and crickets when it comes to sustainability. The result? Aspiring minimalists find themselves on an endless hamster wheel of buying, decluttering, buying more, and purging again. Overemphasizing decluttering and underemphasizing the reasons why we overbuy in the first place is thoroughly inconsistent with slow living as a movement; consumption without intention is terrible for the planet, too. Your host, Stephanie Seferian, is a stay-at-home/podcast-from-home mom and author who believes that minimalism, eco-friendliness, and non-toxic living are intrinsically intertwined. She's here to explore the topics of conscious consumerism, sustainability, and environmentally-friendly parenting practices with like-minded women; she's here, too, to show you how to curate eco-friendly, decluttered homes (without the extra work).

  1. What We Leave Behind

    22h ago

    What We Leave Behind

    Every week, we drag our trash bins to the curb, close the lid, and forget about them. But where does "away" actually go? And does the mere existence of waste "management" mean we can continue to consume more and more without major consequence? On today's show, author and sanitation worker Simon Paré-Poupart discusses what he's learned in his 20 years on the back of a Montreal haul truck. He's here to pull back the curtain on the grueling yet essential work of waste collection. He's also here to offer a  sociological reflection on modern consumerism, systemic waste, and the human cost of hiding our cultural detritus. Here's a preview: [5:00] We didn't always have all this trash, and we didn't always have a need for "waste management" [12:00] A society's trash reveals an awful lot about a society. What does our trash reveal about us? [19:00] Recycling might give us a boost of moral satisfaction, but that moral satisfaction is ultimately just fuel to buy more stuff [22:00] On why waste management is integral to maintaining the status quo [27:30] The mere existence waste management is a symptom of this much larger problem Resources mentioned: Trash! A Garbageman's Story The Books Times Readers Are Most Excited About This Summer (via The New York Times) Waste and Want: A Social History of Trash (by Suzanne Strasser) Book Club! We're reading Beyond Decluttering: Forty Days to Simplicity Through Connection for our Wednesday, June 24 meeting at 7 pm EST. Join us! Details here. This show is listener-supported. Thank you for supporting! Join our (free!) Facebook community here. Find your tribe. Sustainable Minimalists are on Facebook, Instagram + Youtube @sustainableminimalists Say hello! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    32 min
  2. Saying No To New

    Jun 9

    Saying No To New

    New things are everywhere—and they’re causing us to disconnect from what we value most. In a world that constantly tells us that new is better, our relentless pursuit of material wealth is costing us money, time and happiness. Worse, when we define ourselves by what we own rather than who we are, we reduce our lives to a single, superficial dimension. On today’s show, New York Times journalist Eric Athas offers advice for stepping away from the cycle of constant buying, saying no to shallowness, and discovering the right kind of “new” in our lives. Here's a preview: [8:00] We're wired to become bored the familiar, and other truths to newness [16:00] Consumption has costs! (In fact, it robs us of our finite attention, dilutes our capacity for genuine enjoyment, and misaligns our pursuit of happiness.) [26:00] Musings on the ways in which overconsumption leads to superficiality [37:00] Put down the trinket! Redefining what it means to experience novelty, growth, and freshness without relying on a transaction Resources mentioned: Saying No to New: Why New Things Are Stealing Your Time, Money, and Happiness―And How to Take Back Your Life This episode is sponsored by Fearless Finance. Use code SUSTAINABLE to get $50 off your first meeting. Book Club! We're reading Beyond Decluttering: Forty Days to Simplicity Through Connection for our Wednesday, June 24 meeting at 7 pm EST. Join us! This show is listener-supported. Thank you for supporting! Join our (free!) Facebook community here. Find your tribe. Sustainable Minimalists are on Facebook, Instagram + Youtube @sustainableminimalists Say hello! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    42 min
  3. The Unfollow Effect

    May 12

    The Unfollow Effect

    We've come a long way. But not necessarily in the right direction. From the the nostalgic days of AOL Instant Messenger to 2026's high-stakes, algorithmic landscape, constant connectivity has fundamentally shifted our attention spans, our peace of mind, and the way we show up for our families. Worse, the desire to show up online often takes us directly out of real life. It's no surprise, then, that we're feeling the mental and emotional weight of the "scroll". We don't have to throw our phones in a lake to find the reprieve we desperately need. On today's show author Emily Feldpausch argues that it isn’t about rejecting technology. It’s about reclaiming the intentionality that the algorithms try to take away. Here's a preview: [5:00] Reflections on the shift from the early days of AIM and MySpace to the current user experience that often feels designed against us [8:45] How being always on has eroded our collective sense of peace and altered the dynamics of modern family life [18:00] How to stop checking in and start being present [23:00] A candid look at 2026 internet culture, from shopping hauls to harmful beauty standards. Can we still find corners of the web that align with our true values? [27:00] Emily's personal strategies for maintaining phone boundaries to protect her mental space   Resources mentioned: This episode is sponsored by Fearless Finance. Use code SUSTAINABLE to get $50 off your first meeting. Technology Is Getting Worse The Unfollow Effect: Intentional Living in a Digital Age Book Club This show is listener-supported. Thank you for supporting! Join our (free!) Facebook community here. Find your tribe. Sustainable Minimalists are on Facebook, Instagram + Youtube @sustainableminimalists Say hello! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    36 min
  4. The Cost of Constant Connection

    May 5

    The Cost of Constant Connection

    In this era of relentless connectivity, taking an exit ramp from our digital lives has never looked more inviting. In fact, emerging science is now confirming what many of us feel: Smartphones are draining our cognitive reserves, shattering our focus, and keeping us in a state of low-level chronic anxiety. To see if there’s a better way, reporter Courtney Lindwall shelved her iPhone for a $45 Nokia flip phone. Courtney is on the show today to discuss  the "dumb phone" movement, the logistical friction of navigating an app-dependent world, and why research says our brains are so desperate for a break. Here's a preview: [7:00] Continuous partial attention, instinctual muscle memory, and other ways in which our smartphones are working against us [9:00] Gray scale? screen limits? Here's why the tools and tricks don't work for the vast majority of us [14:00] Thoughts on our emotional attachments to our phones—and the emotional experiences they provide [22:00] The psychological benefits of embracing a bit more "friction" [33:00] Our brains are malleable, and we get used to a new normal quite quickly. Lean into that! Resources mentioned: How an old-school flip phone changed my life (via Consumer Reports) This detox may erase 10 years of social media brain damage, researchers say (via The Washington Post) The Brick phone access blocker device This show is listener-supported. Thank you for supporting! Join our (free!) Facebook community here. Find your tribe. Sustainable Minimalists are on Facebook, Instagram + Youtube @sustainableminimalists Say hello! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    40 min
  5. The Plastic Detox

    Apr 13

    The Plastic Detox

    Plastic has infiltrated our wardrobes, our water and even our bloodstreams, where it is quietly disrupting our hormonal health. That’s the premise of Netflix’s ground-breaking new documentary, “The Plastic Detox”. On today’s show Dr. Shanna Swan, the renowned environmental epidemiologist from the film, exposes exactly how plastic chemicals are quietly reshaping our health. Here’s a preview: [6:00] What’s “Phthalates Syndrome,” and what is this class of chemicals doing to masculinity? What about their evil twins, bisphenols? [19:00] Stop assuming that products on store shelves are safe! (And other advice for listeners who feel they have too much on their plate to worry about microscopic amounts of chemicals.) [24:00] “It’s definitely not easy, but it’s also not that hard.” Here’s how Dr. Swan avoids plastic in her own life [32:00] Hormone disrupting chemicals are in EVERYthing. How to identify which lifestyle swaps actually move the needle and which are just noise [34:00] Are older items less dangerous? Resources mentioned: The Plastic Detox (via Netflix) Unplasticyourlife.com Episode #393: Single-Use Poison (via Apple Podcasts, with investigative journalist Matt Simon) Environmental Working Group consumer guide  This show is listener-supported. Thank you for supporting! Join our (free!) Facebook community here. Find your tribe. Sustainable Minimalists are on Facebook, Instagram + Youtube @sustainableminimalists Say hello! MamaMinimalistBoston@gmail.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    47 min
4.8
out of 5
1,035 Ratings

About

Creating eco-minimalist, non-toxic homes (without the extra work). Although minimalism has experienced a rebirth in recent years, the "less is more" movement has been around for centuries. Yet today's minimalist influencers have resurrected minimalism with a decidedly consumerist spin, as modern minimalism is nearly synonymous with decluttering. While there's a lot of chatter about tidying, it's radio silence and crickets when it comes to sustainability. The result? Aspiring minimalists find themselves on an endless hamster wheel of buying, decluttering, buying more, and purging again. Overemphasizing decluttering and underemphasizing the reasons why we overbuy in the first place is thoroughly inconsistent with slow living as a movement; consumption without intention is terrible for the planet, too. Your host, Stephanie Seferian, is a stay-at-home/podcast-from-home mom and author who believes that minimalism, eco-friendliness, and non-toxic living are intrinsically intertwined. She's here to explore the topics of conscious consumerism, sustainability, and environmentally-friendly parenting practices with like-minded women; she's here, too, to show you how to curate eco-friendly, decluttered homes (without the extra work).

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